Duck or Rabbit
by On A Rocketship To Pigfarts
Summary: You may hate someone, despise them even, but then find out you can't live without them. Norah hasn't had a home in years, until she arrived at Hogwarts. Like so many others, she finds a family there. However when she meets one Sirius Black it's not exactly love at first sight...
1. Chump

**A/N: Hi! This story was written for the "I hate you, you hate me now let's snog competition" (by Forever Siriusly Sirius) and the "52 weeks of writing 2013 competiton" (by AlwaysPadfoot - using the prompts drunk and fire) Hope you enjoy!**

**PS: How I Met Your Mother fans should get the title ;)**

* * *

It was the first of September and platform 9¾ was buzzing with excited children and anxious parents. There was laughter as friends reunited with each other, and tears as children parted with their parents. Thousands of students were trying to get their heavy trunks on the Hogwarts Express, and there was much moaning and grumbling each time an unfortunate first year feebly attempted to hoist his heavy belongings through the door of the train, creating a large traffic jam of people. It was an amazing sight and to Norah Callahan, who had grown up in a small muggle village, deep in the Irish countryside, it was the most amazing she had ever seen.

She walked behind her father, silently taking in everything about this place. Never before had she been faced with such an extraordinary sight. She devoured everything with her eyes, there was no way she would miss anything. Surely there couldn't be any place greater than this one… of course, she hadn't ever been to Hogwarts yet. Consumed with awe, she ended up unable to keep up with her father.

"Norah will ya keep up al'eady!" he scolded her. Rowan Callahan was not embracing the magical world as his daughter was. He wore a sour look on his face, but if you had asked his children, they would've told you he always looked that way, magic or no magic. He smelt of whisky and cigarettes. More often than not Norah would find him drunk to the point of unconsciousness on the front steps of their "home". That day he seemed to have restrained himself; he was only drunk to the point of vomiting violently in one of the rubbish bins of the station.

Norah quickly caught up with the man and as they waited patiently on platform 9¾, father and daughter did not speak another word to one another. Instead Mr. Callahan took a cigarette from his pocket and started puffing toxic smoke, whilst Norah sat on her trunk, looking around at other students who seemed around her age. One in particular caught her attention; he was a young boy with jet black hair, glasses and an excited look on his face. His parents, who were significantly older than most of the other parents, were too far away from Norah for her to hear what they said but the pride in their eyes was enough. They said their last goodbyes and his mother shed a few tears, it was quite a moving scene, but it only brought up even more feelings of desolation in Norah.

Norah looked up at her father and couldn't help but wish that, drunk bastard or not, he too would turn to her with tears of joy in his eyes and tell her he was proud.

"Shouldn't you be gettin' on 'at train o' yours." grumbled her father instead, " d'be a shame to miss it n' be stuck wit' me all year!" Norah looked up at her father and shuddered as he smiled with those horrendous yellow teeth of his. She couldn't help but hate him. He had made her suffer so much all these years, and now, with her gone, he'd only have one other person to take his anger out on. As that thought ran through her head, fear filled her heart; she started to walk off towards the train but suddenly turned back and looked at her father with fire in her eyes.

"If you so much as touch Tommy, I will come home and use every piece of magic I've learnt to make your insides burn, your eyes pop out of their sockets and your skin melt." And for the first time in her life, as she saw fear in this grown man's eyes, she felt satisfied. Her father would not harm her younger brother; he was too much of a coward. She hopped her way unto the train and searched for a seat, leaving her father on the platform, staring out into the distance in disbelief. She felt this year would be totally awesome.

* * *

Sirius Black got on the platform with his parent and younger brother, and when he saw the train he didn't just see a gleaming red engine, but he saw his ticket to freedom. He hated living with his obnoxious father, loathsome mother and idiot of a brother, and couldn't wait to go to Hogwarts where he wouldn't have to tolerate their incessant critiques. Sirius was about to leave without looking back at his family, but his mother stopped him.

"Sirius! Come kiss goodbye to your mother, won't you?" Sirius frowned slightly, but seeing the look on his father's face he did as he was told and went to kiss his mother. As his mother crouched down and Sirius pressed his stiff lips on her cold cheek, she grabbed him, as if she were hugging him, but with ten times the strength.

"Now, you listen here you ungrateful child, your father and I have given up a lot to raise you and now it is time you paid us back. When you get to Hogwarts you had better not ruin the reputation that the Black family has spent centuries building up. You will keep your ugly little mouth shut and not put a single foot out of line. Am I understood?" Sirius clenched his teeth.

"Yes, mother…" he hissed. She let go of him, looked at him with a fake smile and said loud enough, so that the few people at close distance could hear:

"Goodbye, my dear, and don't get yourself in any trouble, now." Sirius face was emotionless as he turned from his despicable family. He trudged towards the train furious however as the train built up speed and Sirius took place in a compartment with still a few seats vacant, he soon forgot all about his mother and all he could think was, "This is going to be totally awesome!"

* * *

On the Hogwarts Express if you're lucky you will be able to find a completely empty compartment before the train leaves the station. However it is only if you haven't taken a shower in a couple months that will you find that this compartment stays empty throughout the whole journey. That's what happened to Norah, she had been gladly sitting on her own when little by little the seats around her started to fill up. First a young boy came to sit opposite of her. He introduced himself as James Potter and Norah recognized him as the young boy with the emotional parents back on the platform. A few moments later a girl came through the door, followed by a boy with greasy black hair. His name was Severus Snape and hers Lily Evans . Lastly another boy joined them. He wasn't too shabby looking at all; he had long, glistening black hair and ravishing grey eyes. He sat next to James and as they started to talk he introduced himself as "Sirius" just "Sirius".

* * *

Sirius took place in a compartment with a few vacant seats left. The boy next to him seemed like a decent guy and so did most of the people he was sat around. There was a boy who seemed quite out of shape, he wore dirty clothes and was morbidly skinny. Him and the girl next to him seemed to already know each other and, just as everyone else, seemed quite excited at the idea of going to Hogwarts. The boy spoke:

"I really hope you get into Slytherin with me! It would be a shame not be in the same classes!" James who was next to Sirius snickered and opened his mouth.

"What? You want to go to Slytherin? I'd probably go home if I were put in Slytherin, wouldn't you?" James nudged Sirius on the arm, who nodded half-heartedly as he knew there was a good chance he would be put in that house as the rest of his ancestors. "Gryffindor is the only worthwhile house!"

"Sure, if you're an arrogant twat." Severus countered.

* * *

It didn't take long for a fight to break out between two of the boys in the compartment and Norah couldn't help but be on Severus' side. All about him reminded her of Tommy; she could read the neglect in his eyes and she immediately felt protective of him. However Norah wasn't one to fight and she stayed there silent as Sirius and James ganged up on Severus. Lily tried with all her might but they dismissed any attempt of hers to defend her friend.

"What's with the clothes Snivellus?" Sirius had already nicknamed his new victim. "Mommy too busy regretting ever having you to clean them?"

Norah snapped, she didn't know what went down in Severus' house but she knew there was more truth to that sentence than false and that Sirius had no business making assumptions like that.

"We can't all have a mother that cries on our first day of school now can we James? And you Sirius, I take one look at you and I can tell you have an army of servants that bathe and feed you every day! I'd like to see you both spend a day in Severus' shoes and then, _maybe_ then, I'll let you make fun of his hair and his clothes but you privileged little pricks have no right to bully him just because he didn't have the chance to be born in a filthy rich, loving family like you!"

* * *

Sirius was taken aback when the second girl in the compartment spoke for the first time. She hadn't even noticed her before then. She had short curly brown hair that fell to her shoulders and piercing blue eyes that were looking at him with such hatred he felt like she could stab him with those orbs.

Who did she think she was? His family was far from loving, and sure he did have servants and there was more truth to that sentence than false but she had no business making assumptions like that!

* * *

There was a silence and Norah thought the two boys had understood, but then Sirius opened that ungodly mouth of his and said:

"I wouldn't be caught dead walking in Snivellus' shoes. I'd be afraid to catch the plague!"

Ever since both Norah and Sirius hated each other unconditionally.

* * *

**Please review whether you enjoyed or not! :)**


	2. Mardy Bum

**A/N: Soooo Sorry for the long wait, and a big thank you to AngryMagic who harassed me to the point of me actually getting this chapter up. Hopefully you enjoy it and don't forget to review please, and tell me what you think. I'll get the next chapter up ASAP!**

* * *

Norah woke up early in the morning of her first day at Hogwarts. She couldn't wait to learn all about Charms and Potions, which were sure to be much more interesting subjects than Mathematics or English Literature… ugh! She was up before the sun and got dressed on her tip toes as not to wake any of her dorm mates. She slipped into her uniform and took a good look at herself in the mirror. A gleaming red and gold tie shone on her chest; she had been sorted into Gryffindor last night. That is, after a very long period of deliberation by the Sorting Hat; she had sat there for three and a half minutes, as the piece of enchanted clothing sorted through her brains. She had been sure that he would find that she didn't belong anywhere and should be sent home, she almost ran out of the Great Hall all together, but then the hat finally pronounced its verdict and she walked down to join the other newly sorted Gryffindors, namely, Sirius Black. But not even he could've ruined that evening for her, it had been long since she had felt at home anywhere, not since… a while.

Norah gave a violent shudder. Once again her past had caught up with her, and she cursed herself for letting it…that blood…that letter… she shook her head violently, trying very hard to jerk those thoughts out of her head. It didn't work, but Norah told herself it had, and as the first signs of daylight hit the horizon she left the dorm, determined to outrun her thoughts. Young and naïve, she still believed she could.

* * *

"It's just a tie!" Sirius thought to himself as he watched the rest of the newly sorted Gryffindor boys stuff their faces with breakfast, like they hadn't seen food in fifty days, "No one else is making a big fuss about it! Heck, Peter already spilt pumpkin juice all over his!" But still, Sirius couldn't stop looking down at it, as if afraid that it would disappear or change colour.

Sirius had always hated the thought that one day he would have to wear that green tie, a tie that was tainted with so much blood, the tie his father wore… the tie _she_ wore… the tie they all wore…

He had finally proven that he wasn't one of them and that besides the name that they had forcefully bestowed upon him, he wasn't like them. They weren't brave, and they weren't smart. They weren't what he aspired to be, they were the opposite. They weren't his role models but the living and breathing representations of everything he hated. They didn't love, they didn't care. They weren't good parents. They loathed him almost as much as he despised them, and they were quite transparent with those feelings. They hadn't ever been encouraging towards their eldest son, they hadn't ever said that they loved him, at least not since he was old enough to understand.

Sirius stood up with a start, partly wanting to leave those memories in the Great Hall and run away, partly hoping that the rush of blood to his head would make him forget. It didn't, it just made him dizzy for a few seconds. James frowned, his face dribbling with maple syrup.

"Wazwrung?" He asked, probably surprised that Sirius had already finished eating when they had all barely began. Sirius quickly regained sense of reality. He looked at James with a smile, not letting show any weakness, and said as he sat back down:

"Nothing, I just caught a whiff of Snivellus and the smell of rotting disappointment took me by surprise."

* * *

Norah scowled in her cereal bowl, as she heard James and Sirius laugh together making fun of Severus again, and suddenly she wasn't hungry anymore, which maddened her a bit because it wasn't every day that she got to eat breakfast fit for a king. At least, it wasn't every day until today. "I could get used to this!" she thought as she admired all the food there was on the table; all the different plates of French toast, pancakes, fruits and delicious, delicious, chocolate cereals. Then she thought of her brother at home, who instead of this feast was probably eating cold, left over spinach pie next to their drunken father who was probably unconscious on the kitchen table. Mrs O'Donaghue had prepared that pie for them the day before last, and though she was an extremely kind-hearted woman, unfortunately Mrs O'Donaghue cooked excruciatingly bad. But the two children couldn't complain, it was always better than having to wait in line at the soup kitchen, where there were more likely to catch a disease than eat some food.

Norah pushed her bowl away and started to get up. She still had a good ten minutes before the first lesson of her soon to become least favourite subject, Transfiguration, would commence. She was walking in between the tables to leave the Great Hall, when her feet got tangled up in something that was lying on the floor. Norah tried to regain her balance but she ended up falling head over heels in in front of the whole school. Her nose struck the cold floor first, and it was with a loud thud that the rest of her body followed. She turned around to see none other than Sirius Black grinning horridly. He had "accidentally" pushed his bag into the aisle, just as Norah walked by, and now stared proudly at the product of his mischief.

"Oops…" he sneered.

* * *

"That'll teach her to call me a privileged little prick!" Sirius thought "I'd feel much more privileged if I were in her shoes right now!" Well, of course not exactly right now as she sat, nose trickling with blood in front of the whole school, but any other time when he wouldn't have to endure his obnoxious family.

He enjoyed seeing her prissy little eyes widen and her hands slowly move to her nose. She saw the blood on her fingers and slowly got up and dusted herself off. It looked like she was going to leave but instead reached to grab something invisible that lay on the table, and as she did this she "accidentally" knocked a full glass of pumpkin juice down the front of Sirius' shirt. His tie was stained, and his pride was hurt. He was about to open his mouth and yell something at her when:

"Oops…" Norah mimicked, before turning on her heels and walking out of the Great Hall.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed that, please leave a review :)**


	3. Call Me When You're Sober

**Hello everyone! Here's the third chapter! Thanks to all those who reviewed ;)**

* * *

I don't know about you, but sometimes I feel like my long term memory serves much better than that of my peers. In fact, I often find myself saying "Remember that time when…" and people just raise their eyebrows, shake their heads and say with either apologetic or condescending tones "No, I don't remember." Not the best feeling in the world I assure. It is the feeling one gets when one realizes how uneventful their life must be compared to the rest of humanity. It is the feeling you get when you wonder what sorts of exciting things happen to other people that they don't have time to remember that joke you made two years ago about a penguin walking into a bar in Africa it was a really good one too). It is a feeling that Norah Callaghan had learnt to live with.

The previous two years, Norah had turned out to be somewhat of a "wallflower", and as opposed to popular belief, there aren't many perks to being one. Norah hadn't made many friends, not that she hadn't tried. She kept to herself most of the time, which is something the majority of Hogwarts students had a hard time understanding. Why on earth would someone isolate themselves down by the Lake when they could hang out in the crowded courtyard listening to others socialize (or in other words moan about life and gossip about others)? Norah often lied to herself, saying she deliberately cut herself from the other students, stayed away from anyone who could hurt her. In a way that was true, but deep inside what she wanted the most was to just fit in. We've all heard stories of lost children from broken homes finding their place at Hogwarts, this is not one of them, at least not for now. It was hard to fit in somewhere when you despised the boy every other girl seemed to love.

Sirius Black, the shit-colored lining of the black cloud that seemed to dawn over Norah's life, and, the object of a sort of obsession that seemed to have spread like the plague over the soon-to-be third year girls. It was the sort of obsession that would blind you and deafen you, make your insides burn in adoration when he was around and in yearning when he was gone. It was the type of obsession that could drive the better of us mad, and render us to the state of complete and utter fools; an obsession so strong only prepubescent young girls could have. Norah however didn't share that obsession but a different one, and as she packed her things for her departure the following morning, she couldn't help but imagine the one thousand and so ways that she could personally torture the little git that made her life hell.

"Norah! Norah! Norah!" Tommy squealed as he dashed into the room that they had both shared since he was born, jerking his sister out of her very graphic daydream "I can't find my books! I've lost all my books! I can't go if I've lost all my books!"

"Ssshh!" Norah urged, "I've already packed your books, they are in your trunk! Now, please be quite you are going to wake Dad up!"

"Daddy isn't here!" Norah still cringed at the sound of Tommy calling him "Dad_dy_", "He's at the pub." Tommy said simply, not making eye contact with his sister. Norah checked the dusty clock that hung above her bed.

"Figures!" She thought to herself, "It's four in the afternoon." Luckily, this year Norah wouldn't have to leave Tommy behind with that drunk, her little brother had also received his Hogwarts letter. And ever since he had taken all the chances he could to bombard her with questions.

"Hey, Norah how's the food at Hogwarts?"

"Divine! You'll love it! Plus, they have your favorite: _choux-a-la-crème_!" When Tommy had been four and Norah six, their mother had taken them out to town, where they had stopped at the bakery and ordered a couple of those little puff pastries. Tommy had absolutely fallen in love with them, globing them down like that was his life purpose. Needless to say Tommy hadn't had any in a while but his mouth still watered at the thought of them.

"And the professors? And the subjects? And the people? And the magic?" Tommy had a never ending list of questions and Norah and he spent much of the evening laughing and talking about Hogwarts. However uncomfortable Norah felt there, it was still loads better than here in Ireland.

"And then there is Peeves, he makes so much trouble! This one time he filled Professor McGonagall's desk drawers with chocolate frogs and when she opened them all the frogs sprouted out and it took the whole hour to get them under control and that was with Phineas Flinch in the class. Phineas eats like he's got a family of thirteen living in his stomach! This time at Haloween he-" Norah didn't finish her story, both her and her brother fell silent.

They smelt him before they heard him; the smell of yesterday's beer fermenting on his overgrown beard, mixed with the smell of today's beer still fresh on his breath.

"Daddy's home…" Norah thought disgustingly.

* * *

Sirius needn't pack on the eve of his return to Hogwarts. He had never unpacked, he never did. This wasn't his home. Not since he had got back from Hogwarts the first time and been greeted by his parents' disapproval and anger. Anger that they took out on him even though they knew and he knew and the goddamned chandelier probably knew that he had done nothing wrong. He had no power over the Sorting Hat's decision and every blow he received only reminded him that he hated his parents' injustice. He had spent every summer lying on his bed looking at the ceiling counting down the days, the hours, the minutes until he could leave once more. However this time, he wouldn't be leaving alone, little Regulus would be joining him.

Regulus, Mommy's boy, Daddy's pride, heck he was their last hope to have a decent child. Sirius knew it wasn't his fault, and felt bad for him even. Regulus wasn't a bad kid, but he was weak as hell. He was like a little automated robot that did what his parents told him without question or resistance. "I guess he got all the love and I got all the backbone… and the looks." Sirius told himself as he stared at his ceiling.

There was a small knock on his door. It wasn't Kreacher; Kreacher didn't bother cleaning Sirius' room, to him it was as if Sirius had already been disinherited. It wasn't his father; for one he was at work and for two he never came in Sirius' bedroom. It wasn't his mother; she came in, but didn't bother knocking, she burst in unannounced like a banshee, screaming her head off (that happened every once in a while). That left only one other person.

"Hey…Sirius… can I come in?" Regulus slowly opened the door and spoke in a low, slow voice. Either he was afraid of Sirius, which was unlikely, or of their mother, who it seemed had eyes and ears all around the house. Sirius didn't answer but nodded, and his younger brother walked in hesitantly.

"What's up Reg?" Their mother hated it when Sirius called him that, which made it all the more fun.

"I'm just scared…of hmm, going to Hogwarts…I-I don't want to..."

"Disappoint?" Sirius asked raising an eyebrow and Regulus nodded. "Well, Reg, I honestly don't think you have anything to worry about. It's not like you can do any worse than me!" Regulus gave a little smile.

"I guess not… but, what if I'm so bad at all the classes that I get sent home?" Sirius thought of that for a second. Wouldn't that be funny? The almighty Black family, one of their sons a blood traitor and the other an incompetent idiot! Oh how delightful it would be to watch his mother spiral into delirium over her failed life.

"I doubt that's going to happen, I mean you're stupid but not that stupid!" And Sirius ruffled Regulus' hair. Regulus laughed half-heartedly.

"I guess you're right."

"I'm always right!" Sirius winked, and Regulus now laughed freely, but soon stopped abruptly, tensing up.

They heard her before they saw her. The sounds of her cold high-heeled shoes walking slowly up the stairs. It was like that moment in a horror movies when the hero is trapped in a room and he can hear the monster walking slowly towards him, helpless, alone, afraid.

"You'd better get out of here," Sirius told Regulus half-joking, half-not, "Don't want to be seen with me now do you?"

Sirius lay back down on his bed as his brother closed the door behind him. "One more day," he told himself, "One more day…"

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed that! :) What would you guys like to see happen next? Leave a review :)**


	4. Rocking Around The Christmas Tree

**Hi everyone, I'm really sorry, I'm very late with this chapter! To make up for it I'm going to try and post two more chapters this week (no promises though :P) Enjoy the chapter and please review :)**

* * *

Norah spent her afternoon roaming around the deserted hallways. Most people were up in their dorms packing for the Christmas holidays but she had been so excited (and nervous, mostly nervous) that she had done all her packing between two and three in the morning. She wasn't going home, oh, no, she wouldn't have been excited for that! She had been invited over by Meghan, her best friend to spend Christmas with her family. All the while she was delighted, she loved spending time Meghan, the most adorable person she'd ever met by far (although she was probably tied with Tommy), but at the same time, she didn't like leaving Tommy alone at Hogwarts. Norah often forgot that he wasn't a toddler anymore and she had spent half her life protecting him that she couldn't help but smother him from time to time. At least for now, he didn't seem to mind all that much.

As Norah decided it was about time for her to try and find her brother and bid him farewell (he would be leaving the Hufflepuff Basement at any moment now to join his friends in the Courtyard) she was distracted by the sound of arguing. Curiosity took the better of her and she found herself against the wall listening to what was going on. It was none other than Sirius and another voice she didn't seem to recognize.

"I told you, you can do what you want but I'm not going." Sirius said calmly though from his tone we could hear he was losing patience.

"But, you can't just not come!" the voice sounded younger.

"Watch me!"

"Sirius, what do you want me to tell mother and father when I arrive at King's Cross and you're not there?" Ah, so the other voice was his brother.

"Tell them I wish them a merry Christmas and I hope they choke on their Christmas pudding."

"Sirius…"

"Come on, Reg, we both know they don't want me there, and I'd rather go on a date with Moaning Myrtle than spend an afternoon with those two." And with that Norah heard footsteps, but it was only a couple seconds before he reached her that she realized they were footsteps in her direction. He walked past her only raising his eyebrow in that disdainful way she loathed so much. He was walking away, but she couldn't stop herself from calling out.

"Why aren't you spending Christmas with your family?" He turned his head, not stopping and frowned.

"What, does your boring little existence not suffice you anymore that you have to eavesdrop on other people?"

"I just thought you would want to spend Christmas with your family, I mean your brother-." He froze and turned to look at her.

"And, I just think you ought to keep your big nose out of other people's business. Who do you think you are? Seriously, Mary frickin' Poppins?"

"How do you even know who Mary Poppins is?" He just rolled his eyes and stormed off.

* * *

It took some time for Sirius to calm down after this encounter. More and more she was starting to get on his nerves.

"Mrs Know-it-All, has a solution for everything" he was muttering under his breath as he crashed into one of the chairs of the now empty common room, "Oh, be nicer to your parents, stop acting like a prick. Because I'm the prick? Ugh, she's so… frustrating!"

Sirius kicked of his shoes; they went flying across the room. He put his feet on the coffee table and was almost disappointed when no snooty prefect came to tell him off.

* * *

Tommy had never spent Christmas on his own, but somehow, he didn't seem to mind. Norah was always taking care of him and some time away would probably do her good. Plus this meant he could eat whatever he wanted and not get lectured about it. It was only the first evening after the Hogwarts Express had gone back to London and he already felt like he'd gained twenty kilos. He was eating dinner with all the other students who had stayed. There was him and two other Hufflepuffs, three Ravenclaw girls who kept on giggling and whispering in each other's ears, a quiet, pale Slytherin boy and another boy from Gryffindor. No one really seemed to know one another (besides the three girls) and the table was quite silent. Everyone was busy eating desert and Tommy was joyfully gobbling down choux-a-la-crème after choux-a-la-crème until alas, there was no more. He looked at the empty platter and before he even had time to be disappointed the boy from Gryffindor, who was sat face to him, offered him the two he had saved on his plate.

"Oh, no, I'm okay, I've had loads already." Tommy turned down, but the boy had already put them on his plate. "Well, thanks!" Tommy said delightedly.

"No problem," the boy flashed him a smile, to which the three girls all squealed to, "I'm Sirius, by the way."

"I'm Tom," He reached out his hand, "Tom Callahan." Sirius raised an eyebrow and it was with a slight smile that he shook hands with Norah Callahan's little brother.

* * *

Norah had been greeted by Meghan's parents like their own daughter, hugs and kisses and all. They really were kind people and Norah immediately saw where Meghan had got her warmth from, no wonder they had all been sorted in Hufflepuff. Meghan's father worked at the Ministry and her mother was a nurse at St Mungo's. The latter was also an incredible cook, she would've given the house elves at Hogwarts a run for their money (not that they earned any). Norah felt almost like part of the family when they sat around the luscious food. All of them talked and laughed together and Norah was more than glad she had accepted the invitation. Soon the conversation turned to her.

"So Norah, what about your parents, what do they do for a living?" Meghan more than noticeably kicked her father under the table.

"Um, well, my mother passed away when I was young and my father is… unemployed." Norah answered, trying to be casual.

"I'm sorry, I'm sure she was a wonderful person." Norah gave a half-hearted smile.

"Yeah, she was…" A couple seconds of silence followed and then Meghan tried to change the subject.

"So, mom, how has work been lately?"

"Very good, very good." She was obviously lying.

"What's wrong? An annoying patient?" asked Meghan.

"More like an insufferable family!" her father announced.

"It isn't that bad." Her mother tried to be positive.

"Not that bad? A bunch of blood obsessed, discriminating, obnoxious, spoiled brats!"

"Ok, maybe it is that bad."

"Who's the patient?" Meghan asked eagerly.

"Oh, I don't think it's anyone you know. They are part of one of those high-placed pure-blood families. You know, the Malfoys, the Blacks…"

"The Blacks?" Norah asked.

"Yes, the Blacks, they are one of the most powerful wizarding families in Great Britain. Horrid people really. Aren't some of their children with you at Hogwarts. The Slytherin dorms are probably teeming with them."

"There's Sirius Black, right Norah? But isn't he in Gryffindor with you?" Norah answered with a nod.

"Oh, poor child, his parents must be furious…"

* * *

Sirius had taken it upon him to take Tom under his wing in the art of mischief. They spent days, pranking the other students and teachers spending Christmas at Hogwarts. Although Tom sometimes felt bad about embarrassing some of his fellow classmates it was still some of the best fun he ever had. On some afternoons the pair would sit by the frozen lake and plan out their next attack, Sirius would tell Tom stories of things James, Remus, Peter and him had done in the past, and they would always end up laughing.

"This one time, we added ingredients to this girl's cauldron and the potion literally ended up eating the cauldron. It was hilarious!"

"Oh yeah! My sister told me about that." Sirius saw this as an opportunity to learn stuff about Norah he could possibly use against her later.

"Where is Norah anyways? I mean, why did she go home and not you?"

"Oh, she didn't go home, she was invited to a friend's house for the holidays." Hmm, two things he had learned; first, Norah had friends, supposedly and second, she was a big fat hypocrite.

"Why did you guys not go home?" Sirius immediately saw that the question had made Tom uncomfortable.

"Oh, no reason, we just… like it better here. Our father is, um, let's just say… less than welcoming." Sirius knew he wasn't going to get much more out of Tom, but he still tried.

"What about your mother?"

"Dead." Tom said simply, looking across the Lake.

* * *

Norah almost cried as she said goodbye to Meghan's parents, but she still was really happy at the thought of going back to Hogwarts. It was weird, really, what kind of school has students who want to come back after the holiday? She smiled to herself as the train arrived in Hogsmead. The school was once again swarming with students, all chatting vigorously to one another, telling their friends of their holidays and new gifts. Norah found her bed again and the familiar smell of the Gryffindor common room. But, with that smell came all the rest. James and Sirius were back too. However, somehow, she didn't feel the same about him. Maybe he wasn't the twat she thought he was.

* * *

Sirius was a bit sad to see his peace disrupted as all the Gryffindors filled the common room, and that was counting those snooty prefects. Then again, his friends were back too and Sirius couldn't wait to tell them about the time Tom and him set Slughorn's minced pies on fire. He caught a glimpse of Norah and couldn't halo but wonder if he'd been wring about her. Maybe she wasn't the priss he thought she was.

* * *

Then both of them made eye contact. He couldn't help but sneer and she rolled her eyes, obviously irritated.

"Nevermind…" they both thought.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed. Please review and if you have any suggestion, I'd be happy to hear them.**


	5. You Won't Feel A Thing

**Here's another chapter as promised ;)**

* * *

Norah and Sirius could've been friends, or civil towards one another at least. They could've because they now knew that in part they had been wrong about their first impressions. They could've, that is, if it hadn't been for Sirius' good looks. As they grew older the girls grew fonder and fonder of his ravishing eyes and Sirius knew how to take advantage. Norah seemed to be the only girl to notice how he would just play around with them and it drove her mad. Then again, if they were stupid enough to believe him, she guessed it was their problem. Either way, as they headed towards their fifth year at Hogwarts Norah and Sirius did not seem to have changed their minds about one another.

Norah, tried not to think about him, and that suited her quite well. Her summer hadn't been great though, of course, it never really was. However, what came in the mail that morning was sure to bring back her joyful spirits. The house was completely silent; Norah was the only one up and she had gone outside on the porch to take in some of that fresh morning breeze. She wasn't that surprised when the tawny owl landed next to her; it was that time of summer when the school sent in the list of books and materials for the following year. She was surprised though when she saw the owl carried three letters: one for her, one for Tommy, but what about the last one. She carefully opened the letters one by one. Sure enough the first one was Tommy's list of third year books; she set it aside and opened the second one, which was, as she had predicted her own list of books for her fifth year. She skimmed through the list making mental notes on which books she would enjoy and the ones she wouldn't (*cough* A Guide to Intermediate Transfiguration *cough*) and then set it aside as well. She took the last letter in her hands, examining it carefully, nah, she just ripped it open.

As she did so, a small object fell unto the floor with a small cling. Norah picked up the object, which she found to be a badge. On this badge gleamed a golden letter-P. Norah frowned, it couldn't be. She then unfolded the letter and quickly read it. Norah had been chosen as prefect to the Gryffindor house! All the while she was delighted and proud, she was also confused. She was a good student and all, even one of the best in her year, but prefects needed authority and confidence when in front of others. She didn't think she really had any of that. She became slightly nervous at the thought of having to stand in front of people and give orders; she doubted anyone would really listen. Although Tommy would try to reassure her, it was with a bit of anxiety that she headed to King's Cross that year, her badge in her pocket.

* * *

Sirius joined all his friends on platform 9¾. James was eyeing Lily Evans, trying to be discrete about it but failing tragically. Peter was tugging at his clothes, and trying desperately to tie his tie. And Remus, well, now that Sirius thought about it Remus was nowhere to be found. All four friends were meant to be discussing their… plans for the year. It was quite a delicate subject and Remus was meant to be helping.

"Where's Remus? He's meant to help us." Sirius asked James who jumped out of his reverie.

"Oh, um, I don't know, I think he was appointed prefect." James said, a bit distracted.

"Seriously?" When he thought about it, it wasn't that surprising, but still Sirius found it shocking that someone who hung out with James and him could be chosen as prefect. "What about our plans?" James shrugged.

"He doesn't need to learn all this stuff, he's not going to be changing, he already can." James told Sirius with a little smile. Peter gave a small shudder. "Come on, Peter, grow a pair!" James exclaimed as he gave Peter a hard slap on the back.

That's when Sirius noticed Remus on the other side of the platform, with the other newly selected prefects.

"Wait, what? Please tell me Norman isn't the other Gryffindor prefect?" Norman, was the nickname James and Sirius had given Norah, personally, he was quite proud of it.

"It would appear so…" James said as he also scanned through the small group.

"Gosh, it's moments like these I regret not being in Slytherin!" The three boys laughed.

* * *

Norah couldn't sit still as the Head Boy and Head Girl started explaining in what her new job consisted. When she wasn't taping her foot she was biting her nails and when she wasn't doing that she was scratching her neck. Her fellow prefect didn't seem all that more at ease. It was Remus Lupin, she had seen him around, he was one of Sirius' friends, but she didn't know him that well. As they both got up after they had been thoroughly stressed out, Remus spoke to her for the first time.

"So, where do you want to meet on the platform at Hogsmead?" They had been charged with showing all the second year Gryffindors where to get in the carriages.

"Umm, how about just underneath the sign that says "Hogsmead Station"?"

"Sounds good." Remus smiled and as they were both about to walk away, Remus turned around and said "Don't stress, I'm sure everything is going to be fine" Norah gave a nervous laugh.

"Yeah, I'm sure too." Remus wasn't that bad, Norah thought, even if he could've done with a better choice of friends.

* * *

"So, how's our new prefect doing?" Sirius asked as Remus joined them in their compartment. He laughed.

"I'm good, what about you?"

"We're all fine, working on the project, you know. So, not to hard spending two hours with Norman, was it?" James answered. Remus rolled his eyes.

"It was fine, she's not that bad you know…"

* * *

** Hope you enjoyed :)**


	6. Hot and Cold

As in most schools, the term was always a bit slow to start. Most of the students had a hard time switching from holiday to work and everyone took it slow. That is, everyone except Norah, Meghan and Remus who would spend their evenings working together in the library, already thinking about their upcoming OWLS. Norah had been surprised at how hard-working and serious Remus seemed to be, and it was more than gladly that she accepted him as her new study-buddy.

"Ok, I finished my Potion's essay and I think I'm going to go study my silencing charms." Norah said as she closed her Potion's textbook.

"Um, Norah, the essay is due in three weeks and Flitwick said we weren't going to start on silencing charms until the beginning of next term, whereas your Transfiguration homework is for after-tomorrow." Remus said raising an eyebrow. Norah sighed.

"Yeah, but, I don't understand anything!" Norah complained. Meghan looked up from her Herbology textbook.

"She really doesn't. Believe me!" Meghan had once tried to explain their lesson to Norah in fourth year. Norah had ended up turning Meghan's favourite bracelet into a teacup-shaped rat. They still didn't know how she had managed.

"I'd help you but I'm not too good at explaining stuff. You should ask Sirius, he's amazing in Transfiguration…Or maybe not…" Remus chuckled as he saw Norah's face. Norah just closed all her books and said she'd done enough studying for tonight, her friends agreed and they all closed their books and talked for a couple hours before getting kicked out for making too much noise.

"You still didn't answer, if you had to kiss one guy at school, who would it be?" Meghan asked Norah as they walked the corridors, they had half an hour before curfew.

"You didn't answer either!" Norah protested.

"She's got a point." admitted Remus.

"Honestly, I'd kiss Sirius. I mean, I know he's a jerk and all, but if it were just a kiss… I mean…he's really hot okay!" Remus laughed "You're turn."

"I know you guys are going to find this weird. I mean, him and I don't get along very well and all. He's just really good-looking and I know almost all the girls think the same but I have to admit I'd kiss Professor Slughorn." All three of them laughed. "No but really, his bald spot and his amazing five feet tall body. Hmm, it drives me crazy."

"What about you Remus? What girl would you kiss?" Meghan asked, and it was quite obvious that the question made Remus uncomfortable.

"Oh, I don't know…"

"Come on, I'm sure you have someone." Norah nudged his arm.

"I do, it's just that well, all the girls at school already dated my best friends, so I'm kind of screwed, aren't I?" Once again, their laughter filled the empty hallway.

* * *

Tommy and Sirius had bumped into each other at the Great Hall and decided to walk to their respective classrooms together and catch up.

"So, you kissed her, oh, Tom, please tell me you kissed her!"

"No, her aunt barged into the room and when she had gone, well… the moment was gone!"

"Ah, damn it, Tom, the moment is never gone, you just have to know how to get back into it! I'll teach you how to do that sometime!"

"Ok, and what about you, how did your holidays go?" Tom asked.

"Dreadful as usual. I'm thinking of running away. My brother, well, he's become… a lost case, I think…" Sirius tried to say this matter-of-factedly but he was obviously touched by what was happening.

"Yeah, me too, I think I'm going to leave."

"What about your sister? And, most importantly, what about Mrs O'Donahgue hot niece?" Sirius asked, though Tom had never told him what exactly happened in that house he knew parents could be a handful and though he despised her, he didn't think it were fair for Norah to deal with her father alone.

"My sister is old enough to take care of herself, heck she's been taking care of me since I can remember. And, as for Kaitlin, well, I tell myself there are thousands of her out there." Sirius grinned and ruffled Tom's hair.

"I have taught you well! Your sister wouldn't be proud!" They laughed as they arrived near Sirius' charms classroom . "Speak of the devil." He said, and sure enough there was Norah, who was talking with a couple of Gryffindor girls. She had noticed them and it seemed couldn't help but roll her eyes. Sirius knew from Tom that Norah never approved of his friendship with Tom. She thought he was a bad example, and heck, of course he was! But what's life if you can't have a little fun right?

* * *

James and Sirius were in the back of the charms classroom and they were arguing under their breaths.

"You said anyone!" James smirked.

"But, I didn't mean _anyone_!" Sirius protested.

"You could always just pay up now." James grinned; he knew Sirius wasn't one to turn down a challenge.

"Come on, you can't make me-"

"Mr. Black! Would you like to tell me what spell I would use if I wanted to attack you with a flock of birds?" Professor Flitwick interrupted, Sirius didn't know, "I give whoever knows the answer the permission to personally attack Mr. Black with a flock of birds." Norah raised her hand and smiled. Sirius groaned.

"Remember," James whispered in Sirius' ear, "Be nice, or I might win for once!"

* * *

Sirius sulked throughout lunch and all afternoon, his face and forearms were heavily scratched and not even in a way that said "I was in a violent fight. You should see the other guy", but more like "I got attacked by a little kitten". The word had spread fast around the school and when lunch period came all the fifth years had heard about how Sirius had gotten attacked by a couple of canaries. He then had to suffer through hours of staring and pointing at his damaged, yet still fabulous face!

He then spent two hours storming around the common room trying to find a dark corner where he could roam around in self-pity. Sirius wasn't one feel bad for himself but his day really could not have been any worse. Between James and his stupid ideas and Norah and her stupid birds Sirius found himself between a rock and a hard place. He wanted to plan his revenge, his pride had been awfully hurt and yet he knew that he couldn't or his pride would be hurt even more! It made Sirius furious and he was really beaten down.

He was on his way to the boy's dorm when he bumped into Norah. She had a huge smirk on her face and at first he walked past her, deciding to just ignore her but then he turned around and called to her.

* * *

"Why is it we always have to fight?" Norah frowned before turning around, since when did Sirius care.

"I don't know," she answered, "we don't like each other."

"Sure, we don't like each other…" Sirius shrugged and left a very confused Norah in the common room.

* * *

**Please leave a review and tell me what you think and would like to see! :) I'm really excited for the next chapter (Spoiler: You're going to learn a lot about Norah's past :D ), so make sure to stick around!**


	7. Because of You

**Ok, here it is. So, there's only one point of view in this chapter, and possibly in the next as well. Hope you enjoy this :)**

* * *

Norah still didn't know what to make of what Sirius had said that night in the common room. More than frustrating her now, he was just seriously confusing her. For five years he'd taken every opportunity to humiliate and demean her and all of a sudden he had a change of heart or something. Maybe those birds pecking at his head had altered his brain. Sirius didn't just forget what happened and he definitely wasn't one to forgive that easily. He had stopped making callous comments on her behalf and didn't even bother to mock her when her transfiguration spell backfired and she had to go to the infirmary with whiskers on her face. She tried to read him, see what he was playing at but she couldn't tell, she didn't understand what Sirius was doing or why.

For now though, Norah was far from thinking about Sirius, as she sat by the Great Lake she was far from Hogwarts. She was back in Ireland, back exactly 7 years ago.

* * *

It had been one year since her father had lost his first six months he had tried so hard to find a new job, he really had, he was a good man, not a quitter. But, God knows what happened. Instead of finding comfort in their mother's arms he started finding comfort in a pint of beer at the pub, and then two, and then they'd find him unconscious on the front steps. At least that was when they were lucky. On other nights he would barge in and although Tommy was too young to understand, Norah knew why her mother screamed in the middle of night out of agony and why she would wake up the next morning bruised and bleeding. She told them she had fallen down the stairs or slipped in the shower but she must have been very naïve to think Norah was duped by her cover up stories.

Then came the day when his wife didn't suffice anymore and he would pick Norah out of bed at two in the morning and she would receive the same punishment. Her mother would scream in horror, but not once did she intervene, not once did she use magic against her husband at the expense of her child.

All children eventually realize that their parents aren't the superheroes they thought they were but Norah had to make that realization prematurely. She had always thought her father was invincible, that he would always be the one to protect her. She never thought she would be wishing for someone to protect her from him. She had always thought her mother was a strong woman, a smart woman, a loving woman. She never thought she would see her crumble apart right in front of her.

This went on until the day Norah came home from school with Tommy, and their mother wasn't in the kitchen making them a snack, pretending everything was fine like she usually was. Norah had set Tommy in front of the television and gone up stairs to see if she could find her. She had first checked their parents' room. She had found everything was smashed, but in their house, everything had been smashed a long time ago. Her mother, on the other hand wasn't there. Norah could hear water flowing from the bathroom though, so she had come to the conclusion that she was taking a shower, or drawing herself a bath. Norah joined her brother downstairs where they watched cartoons for two hours. Still, their mother didn't leave the bathroom. Norah went back upstairs and she put her ear against the door to the bathroom. The water was still running. She gave a small knock, no answer. She gave a louder knock, still no answer. She called her mother, still no answer. That's when she noticed her feet were wet. She looked on the floor and saw that water was running from under the door.

She had started pounding on the door and screaming for her mother to open the door. She tried the handle it was locked. She tried to knock the door open. She was only eight and shouldn't have had the strength to do so, but an invisible force seemed to have helped her and the door flung open. What she saw would haunt her, the rest of her life.

There was water everywhere, the room was flooded. It took Norah a couple seconds before she realized that there was more than just water on the floor. There was red, so much red. Norah looked in the bathtub, somehow knowing what she would find but looking anyways. It was her mother, but her mother in a way no child should ever see their parent. She was completely stripped, letting show her feeble, skeletal body. Norah had never seen the full extent of her father's abuse because her mother tried best she could to hide it, but bare as she was, Norah now saw all the patterns of blue, purple and yellow her father had left. Every single blow was so perfectly traced, and her body was so still she looked like a tortured work of art.

Norah had approached her mother's body. The blood stood out, in contrast with her mother's paleness. Norah's head started to spin, she felt like she was in a dream, everything around her seemed to float and it was not until she came in contact with her mother's frozen skin that Norah realized she had risen her hand to touch the body. Norah had shuddered. Reluctantly she succumbed to the temptation and her eyes went to her mother's face. She remembered how, only a year ago, her mother had always had a radiant look on her face. Her features had always been lit with some kind of… magic. Now all of this was gone. Her eyes were closed, as if she was stuck in a sort of tormented dream. Her mouth was lopsided and half-opened and her hair was wet with blood and water. Norah stood back, she couldn't take this anymore. It looked like her mother was a puppet doll who had had its strings cut. She laid there, in her bathtub, her arm hanging pathetically at her side, her head bobbing to one side, half emerged in water. Norah could now see the source of all the blood, the better fit term would be "sources". Her mother had gushing wounds, on her legs and arms, it seemed to Norah she had them everywhere. Norah had seen her mother weak, cowardly and sad, but this was the first and last time she would see her broken beyond recognition.

* * *

Norah sat by the Lake and remembered all these events with not a single tear. She had learned to live with it. Everyone had their burden and this was hers. Norah didn't like self-pity, and what she hated even more was pity in the eyes of others. This made it hard for her to open up. She'd only ever told one other person at Hogwarts, Meghan, and that was sparing her all the details. She tried to forget but every year when the anniversary of that dreadful day came, Norah would spend the day thinking of nothing but that and clutching the last piece of her mother she had left; the letter her mother had written her before her death. It was in her hands at that moment as she got up, it was getting late and dinner was going to start soon.

As she sat at the Gryffindor table, playing around with her food, she felt someone's eyes on her. She looked up and it was none other than Sirius. She immediately looked down, decided she'd had enough to eat (that is to say nothing) and left the Great Hall. She had barely gotten to the first flight of stairs when someone grabbed her arm.

"Hey, what's up with you?" Norah couldn't believe it. It was Sirius.

"What's up with me? What's up… with _me_?" Norah broke away from his grab and started walking up the stairs. "What's up with you? Why are you so… not mean? Since when do you care?"

Sirius didn't answer for a while.

"I-I just…I care."

"That's bogus! You only do things for yourself and if you have something to get out of it. What do you have to get out of being nice to me?" Sirius hesitated.

"Nothing…" But Norah was already gone.

* * *

**Please leave a review :)**


End file.
